Football: Palmyra's Harmon commits to South Carolina

By Phil Anastasia

Inquirer Staff Writer

Kelvin Harmon said he knew "in my heart" nearly two years ago.

On Thursday, the Palmyra wide receiver made it official.

Pulling a University of South Carolina hat from inside a podium on the stage of the Palmyra auditorium, Harmon announced that he will join the Gamecocks program on a football scholarship.

"I loved the school from the time I was down there my sophomore year," Harmon said. "It caught my heart."

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Harmon is a four-star recruit by rivals.com.

He had narrowed his college choices to six: South Carolina, North Carolina, North Carolina State, West Virginia, Temple and Rutgers.

He said he recent weeks he had focused on South Carolina and North Carolina State and added, "Rutgers was in there too."

Harmon said he was excited to join a program in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference, especially as an athlete from a small school in New Jersey.

"I think I'm ready to make an impact, take screen passes to the house, go over the top," Harmon said.

Palmyra coach Jack Geisel said Harmon's work ethic is the key to his success.

"He's never satisfied with his last game," Geisel said. "He always wanted to improve, year after year, game after game.

"That's what we talk about every day, 'Make yourself better.'"

Harmon wore a tuxedo for the announcement before a crowd of teammates, students, family and faculty in Palmyra's tiny auditorium.

"It's huge," Geisel said when asked what it meant for an athlete from a small school such as Palmyra to commit to an SEC program.

Harmon caught 54 passes for 829 yards and 16 touchdowns as Palmyra went 9-2 in 2014.

He sat out the 2015 opener with a leg injury but returned Sept. 18 to catch eight passes for 103 yards and the game-winning touchdown in a 27-23 win over Holy Cross.

Harmon has caught a touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games.

Palmyra (2-0), the No. 18 team in The Inquirer Top 25, will host Woodrow Wilson on Friday night.

"It's a big step from the Freedom Division in Burlington County," Geisel said of the jump to major-college football. "But I think he can do it because of how hard he works."

Geisel predicted that Harmon would be 225 pounds "after a year or two in their (South Carolina's) weight room."

Harmon said he was relieved have made his college decision.

"I wasn't stressed but it got to be overwhelming," Harmon said.

Harmon called South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier a "good coach with a great history" and said he had developed a "good chemistry" with Steve Spurrier Jr., South Carolina's receivers coach.

Harmon also noted that one of his teammates on the Next Level Greats' 7-on-7 team for the last two years has been Council Rock North (Pa.) quarterback Brandon McIlwain, who already had committed to South Carolina.

"He was talking to me," about committing the Gamecocks, Harmon said.

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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